Description
Book SynopsisIn this volume, Paul Robertson re-describes the form of the apostle Paul’s letters in a manner that facilitates transparent, empirical comparison with texts not typically treated by biblical scholars. Paul’s letters are best described by a set of literary characteristics shared by certain Greco-Roman texts, particularly those of Epictetus and Philodemus. Paul Robertson theorizes a new taxonomy of Greco-Roman literature that groups Paul’s letters together with certain Greco-Roman, ethical-philosophical texts written at a roughly contemporary time in the ancient Mediterranean. This particular grouping, termed a socio-literary sphere, is defined by the shared form, content, and social purpose of its constituent texts, as well as certain general similarities between their texts’ authors.
Trade Review"This monograph asks important questions about the relations between a text's form, content, and social purpose. It points scholarship into a direction of observing how people and their texts form groups based on shared claims." Svetlana Knobnya, The Journal of the New Testament Booklist 2017, Volume 39.5, August 2017 "Ultimately, Robertson’s astute analysis of his collection of relevant data contributes a significant component to the task of understanding the Pauline letters in their literary context, and his emphasis on socio-literary spheres helps advance the discussion beyond polarizing binary approaches that do not adequately account for the complexities of comparing ancient literature. Paul’s Letters and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature is aimed particularly at scholars studying the literary examination of Paul’s letters in their ancient literary context, and it deserves engagement in future endeavors in the field." Eric Covington, Universtity of St Andrews, Reviews of Biblical and Early Christian Studies (December 2016)
Table of ContentsContents Introduction 1 Paul, Paul’s Letters, and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature of the Ancient Mediterranean My Approach: Textual Characteristics, Comparanda, and Socio-Literary Spheres Grounding the Present Study: Literary Criteria, and Specific versus Abstract Content Scholarship Characterizing Paul and Paul’s Letters Scholarship Characterizing the Broader Greco-Roman Literary Landscape Ancient Mediterranean Comparanda: Authors and Texts 2 Rethinking Paul and Paul’s Letters: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus in Context A Brief Introduction to Epictetus and Philodemus Textual Analysis and Comparison Social Location: Paul, Philodemus, and Epictetus 3 How Do We Compare Literature? Re-Classifying Paul’s Letters in a Socio-Literary Sphere An Introduction to Genre and Taxonomy Genre, Taxonomy, and Modern Literary Theory The Theoretical Turn I: Social Purpose The Theoretical Turn II: Linguistic Anthropology, Metadiscursivity, and Metapragmatics 4 An Overview of the Data: Annotated Literary Criteria in Paul, Epictetus, Philodemus, and Other Pauline Comparanda The Approach The Criteria Table of Contents for Literary Criteria General Comments An Introduction to the Data Sets The Data: A Brief Discussion Control Documents: Aelius Aristides’ Panathenaic Oration, the Damascus Document, and Other Pauline Comparanda 5 Socio-Historical Implications of Textual Comparison: The Education and Lives of Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemu Paul’s Letters, Literacy, and Education Broader Implications: Education and Social Location A Few Final Structural, Textual, and Abstract Considerations Conclusion: Socio-Literary Spheres and Literary Classification in Biblical and Classical Studies Review of Conclusions Further Thoughts and Future Study Appendix Graphical Analysis: Paul’s Letters and Comparanda Distilled Data: Literary Sphere and Other Comparanda Specific Textual Data: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus Bibliography Index of Terms Index of Ancient Authors and Texts
